Javier Solana was EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Secretary-General of NATO, and Foreign Minister of Spain. He is currently President of the ESADE Center for Global Economy and Geopolitics, Distinguished Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Europe.

Dear Mr Solan, I am no politician but the case of Algeria to bow and through a nation of Sahraoui or ignore a will of nation to Morocco our good neighbour who dreams about a big Morocco of 1600, is not right.
You can suggest Freee the sahraoui and help Algeria tobe a good ally.
The sahraoui will have there freedom sooner or later.

Dear Mr Solana,
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You are right in that the EU has a vested interest in fostering a mutually beneficial relationship with Algeria.
Same goes for the US and NATO actually.
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However I'd like to say, as an young Algerian living in Algeria, I take issue with two aspects of your Op-Ed.
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1) Your seem to express pessimism re: Algeria's political climate.
Algerians are resourceful. Our current president was reelected despite his health situation, simply because he is widely respected by the people and appreciated enough to win an election. As Thomas Jefferson once said, The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object.
Voters have expressed their will to continue to benefit from Bouteflika's *experience* , and that's that.
Skilled political leadership is available and plentiful in Algeria.
Several Algerian political leaders can and will be in position to succeed Mr Bouteflika successfully once he leaves office.
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2) It is okay to talk about the reopening of Algeria's border with Morocco, as a hypothetical.
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However one cannot ignore the issue of security more particularly drug trafficking in evaluating the outcomes of such a decision.
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So I ask you, Mr Solana, as a former EU and NATO official:
Would any single country in the EU or NATO warmly welcome an open land border with one of the largest drug producer & supplier in the world?
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This is not a trivial issue of foreign policy bargaining, as is often pictured in some media outlets.
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The Algerian PEOPLE do not welcome the reopening of this border at this time and for the foreseeable future.
Not because we know it will benefit our neighbour (that's OK).
Not even because we know it would not benefit Algeria economically.
And certainly not because we do not understand the benefits of trade or for some other silly political posturing.
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We, the VAST majority of the people of Algeria, know a careless reopening of that border would hurt *our children* by enabling the Moroccan *cartels* to continue their large scale introduction of illicit drugs in our country unhindered.
And that is simply *unacceptable*.
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With that in mind, thank you for taking the time to write about Algeria.

As a gateway between Africa and Europe, Javier Solana sees Algeria's strength as key to regional peace and stability. Since its independence from France in 1962, which killed more than a million, the country has been battered by violence. In 1992 a general election won by the Islamists was scrapped, triggering a bloody civil war, in which more than 150,000 people died. During the Arab uprising, sparked by the self-immolation of a street vendor in neighbouring Tunisia in December 2010, "the revolutionary spirit" in Algeria was "stifled while still incipient." In January 2013 al-Qaeda linked terrorists attacked a gas plant in Amenas and killed over 60 people. The civil war in Libya following the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi, and the Tuareg rebellion in Mali, had prompted the leadership to see regional security as its top priority.
The constitutional reforms approved by the parliament earlier this month, which aim to "strengthen Algeria’s democratic standing" may have come too little too late, especially "at a sensitive time, when Algeria is plagued by political and economic uncertainty." The reforms, which "in the making since 2011," send out a message to critics of the country’s commitment to democracy - to restrict serving presidents to two terms of office, and to make Amazigh, spoken by the country’s indigenous Berber minority, an official language. Algeria was originally inhabited by Berbers until the Arabs conquered North Africa in the 7th cenutry. The restrictions on the presidency will cancel out a change made in 2008 that enabled Algeria’s long-serving, ailing president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, to stand for a third term. He won a fourth term in 2014, amid widespread allegations of electoral fraud.
Apart from political uncertainty Algeria faces also economic and security challenges. As oil and gas industry account for "fully 97% of Algeria’s export income, the sharp decline in oil prices since June 2014 has underscored the unsustainability of the country’s economic model." The government will have to reduce its social largesse, which has "traditionally served as a social balm, helping prevent protest." There is fear that tax hike and higher prices for fuel, electricity, and gas" etc. could put social stability at risk, when a new generation of young people, born after the civil war in the 1990s, who unlike the parents - would not put up with "economic hardships" and rise up.
Since the 9/11 attacks, Algeria had been shaken by by a series of bombings carried out by a group calling itself al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which has its roots in an Islamist militia involved in the civil war in the 1990s. Algeria is being backed by the US and Europe in fighting terrorism in its neighbourhood. Solana says the EU will benefit from "further strengthening of ties with Algeria," which can make itself a reliable partner in securing "stability of nearby North Africa and the Sahel," and helping "improve the EU’s energy security."
Last of all he urges Algeria to reconcile with Marocco, by restoring diplomatic relations. This would "help improve security cooperation" in the region. The two had been embroiled in a decades-long territorial dispute over Western Sahara, a mainly desert territory in north-west Africa. For 40 years Algerian-backed Polisario led a guerrilla war against Moroccan forces, fighting for their independence.
It is true that if the "two North African giants were to recognize their mutual interests and reestablish ties," they would provide for stability in the Maghreb. "Algeria’s influence across Africa would also receive a boost," if it became "the first North African country" to lead the African Union, reach a peace agreement in Mali and mediate in the civil war in Libya.

Judging by the frequent qualifying use of the word "if", and the tone of the troubled youth, and the disagreement over relations in the Maghreb, it would appear that the future of Algeria and its neighbors are more likely to become increasingly troubled, rather than more hopeful. I doubt there are any significant events in recent history, that could signify they are any closer to diversifying "the economy, and ramping up diplomatic efforts".

Judging by the frequent qualifying use of the word "if", and the tone of the troubled youth, and the disagreement over relations in the Maghreb, it would appear that the future of Algeria and its neighbors are more likely to become increasingly troubled, rather than more hopeful. I doubt there are any significant events in recent history, that could signify that they are any closer to diversifying "the economy, and ramping up diplomatic efforts".

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